Planning underway for veterans' retreat

Veterans' Retreats Western Australia (VRWA) is hoping to start installing infrastructure for a new retreat for veterans at an old station in the Pilbara in the coming months.

VRWA is a non-profit organisation which helps veterans cope with their experiences in past conflicts.

Earlier this year, the State Government granted the group access to a large section of the state-owned Meentheena Station, near Marble Bar.

President Norm Whitburn says there will eventually be a caretaker, toilets and showers, dongas for veterans with disabilities, landscaping and bays for caravans and tents.

He says a committee will visit the site next month to meet mining companies and station owners who have offered to help.

"There's a big job there and it won't all happen overnight but a lot of this stuff is going to be in there for next season," he said.

"We are quite rapidly getting things together, we're going up there around about the second of September and we've got a meeting with some of the mining companies and some of the station owners who have pledged their support and help to get us up and established."